Cracksman has been ruled out of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at Chantilly next Sunday with the Qipco Champion Stakes at Ascot a possible target.

The news will surprise few, even if it may dismay some, as connections had repeatedly insisted that the Arc was unlikely even after Cracksman had looked so impressive when winning the Prix Niel, over the same course and distance, earlier this month.

The fact that Frankie Dettori was committed to riding Enable – like Cracksman, trained by John Gosden – has also swayed the decision of Cracksman’s owner, Anthony Oppenheimer, who said: “I think it had a lot to do with Chantilly itself.

A lot depends on the size of the field.

“If it was at Longchamp, where the track is wider and the bends are not as tight, it may have been an easier decision. The horse is well, which is the main thing. He’s in the Champion Stakes, which personally I would say is equally unlikely as the Arc, but that is still four weeks away.”

Today’s meeting at Hamilton Park has been abandoned due to a waterlogged track. The course had been considered raceable early yesterday with an inspection announced for 7.30am this morning.

However, further rain prompted the decision to bring the inspection forward when it became clear that were areas of false ground and, with further rain forecast, officials had no option but to cancel.

The loss of this fixture follows the abandonment of Ayr’s three-day Western meeting last week.